Augusta National Adds First 2 Female Members

Condoleeza Rice Accepts Membership Invitation

Associated Press

NEW YORK – For the first time in its 80-year history, Augusta National Golf Club has female members.

The home of the Masters, under increasing criticism the last decade because of its all-male membership, invited former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore to become the first women in green jackets when the club opens for a new season in October.

Both women accepted.

“This is a joyous occasion,” Augusta National chairman Billy Payne said on August 20.Rice, 57, was the national security adviser under former President George W. Bush and became secretary of state in his second term. The first black woman to be a Stanford provost in 1993, she now is a professor of political economy at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. Rice was also recently appointed to the U.S. Golf Association’s nominating committee.

Moore, 58, is vice president of the investment firm Rainwater Inc., having made her name in banking circles. She first rose to prominence in the 1980s with Chemical Bank, where she became the highest-paid woman in the banking industry.

“I have visited Augusta National on several occasions and look forward to playing golf, renewing friendships and forming new ones through this very special opportunity,” Rice said in a statement released by the club.

The move likely ends a debate that intensified in 2002 when Martha Burk of the National Council of Women’s Organizations urged the club to include women among its members. Former club chairman Hootie Johnson stood his ground, even at the cost of losing Masters television sponsors for two years, when he famously said Augusta National might one day have a woman in a green jacket, “but not at the point of a bayonet.”

The comment took on a life of its own, becoming either a slogan of the club’s resolve not to give in to public pressure or a sign of its sexism, depending on which side of the debate was interpreting it.

“Oh my God. We won,” Burk said. “It’s about 10 years too late for the boys to come into the 20th century, never mind the 21st century. But it’s a milestone for women in business.”

Virginia Rometty brought the issue of female members at Augusta National back to the forefront earlier this year after being named IBM’s new chief executive. IBM is one of the longtime sponsors of the tournament, and its last four CEOs, all males, were invited to be members. Augusta National, Billy Payne, refused to provide a substantive answer to that question then, saying the club’s membership decisions are private.

In April, Rometty attended the Masters – sporting a pink jacket, not a green one. IBM also declined to comment, and security around the company’s hospitality cabin at Augusta was tight during the event.

Payne, who took over as chairman in 2006 when Johnson retired, said that Rice and Moore were not treated differently from other new members. Even so, he took the rare step of announcing two of the latest members to join because of the historical significance.

“These accomplished women share our passion for the game of golf and both are well known and respected by our membership,” Payne said in a statement. “It will be a proud moment when we present Condoleezza and Darla their green jackets when the club opens this fall. This is a significant and positive time in our club’s history and, on behalf of our membership, I wanted to take this opportunity to welcome them and all of our new members into the Augusta National family.”

Tiger Woods, who knows Rice through a mutual connection to Stanford, applauded the move.

“I think the decision by the Augusta National membership is important to golf,” Woods said. “The Club continues to demonstrate its commitment to impacting the game in positive ways. I would like to congratulate both new members, especially my friend Condi Rice.'”

Augusta National, which opened in December 1932 and did not have a black member until 1990, is believed to have about 300 members.